2 hour session last night. Was frustrated most of the session, but managed some pretty good runs.
I've been thinking a lot (what's new?
) about why certain people in footbag progress faster and get better than others (eg. Vasek, Dave, Jorden, etc.). So, I'm gonna do sort of a brain dump about the thoughts I've had.
1. It's just natural. They are made better for footbag. Whether that means physically, mentally, or both. If this is the case, then the rest of us have little hope. So, basically I'm gonna ignore this one, because I want to believe I can get good, so even if it's false hope, I'll take it.
2. They trained their butts off. This is obviously true about everyone who is good. But the question is, why do they get better faster? Is it the way they train? Is it that their bodies can handle footbag better, so they can train more often at the highest level? Is it the frequency of their training? Is it what they did before footbag that helped them develop the muscles needed for footbag? (Soccer, etc.) If this is the case, then soccer would be the desired cross-training for footbag. Is it that they built the perfect footbag foundation of tricks? Basically, besides practice, what do all the best players have in common that contribute(d) to their skill?
I've been thinking of different ways of footbag training. Because if footbag greatness is not just natural, then the way you train is vitally important. The only problem I have, is discovering which is best.
1. Frequency?: How often should one train? Muscles take 2 full days to repair. So, should you train one day for as long as possible then rest for two days? Maybe, but it seems that a person needs to train almost daily to maintain the consistency desired in footbag. So, maybe the best way to train would be to play everyday until you start to notice tiredness(word?) or your form slipping. So, basically between 1 and 2 hours every day. This way your muscles don't break down as much and don't require as much time to repair. But 1 hour never seems like enough time to work all the concepts needed to have a varied and wide selection of tricks.
Maybe it's a mix of both. Maybe a good training schedule would be a 2 hour training session. One day off for repair. A light 1 hour maximum session, working weak parts of your game or working 1 - 2 desired elements. Or, maybe a schedule of training two days straight at 1.5 hours a session and then a day off.
2. How should you train?: Should you just drill tricks as much as possible. That's how you get good at kicks, so why not other tricks? Should you just do themed runs? (Eg. whirls, pixies, etc) This way you increase run length and variety while working concepts. Do you do drills as much as possible? It works links, string length, and endurance. Or do you do a mix of them all? I've thought of a method that might work, but I haven't tried it out yet. I think a good way to train would be to do as long and varied a run as possible and whatever trick you drop, you drill that trick in all it's forms. Which means repeating the trick as much as possible and coming up with drills that link that trick to other tricks and vice versa. Also, work the lower level elements of that trick if it has any. Then of course repeat.
Also, I think video taping yourself might be a big key to progress. I know Dave and Jorden film a lot of their sessions. You should tape especially if you don't have a person better than you to play with. Even if you do play with someone better, I think seeing the problem yourself will help you fix it better, because you know how your body moves and functions better than anyone else. The difficulty is identifying the problems.
Another thing I think might increase progression while training is watching footbag videos of the best players WHILE you train. Seeing someone play and then playing immediately after seems like it would increase your chances of performing tricks with the correct form the first time. It makes the most sense to pick the players who have the closest body type as your own to watch. For example I probably wouldn't watch Vasek play while I shred. Even though he does everything with perfect form, I can't replicate the way he does things because my body is not built the same way.
The reason I've been thinking these things is that I train hard pretty often and it doesn't seem like I'm progressing as fast as I should. I know, I know, "People progress at their own rate!". But, screw that. I want to progress faster than my "own rate". I can only think of 4 possibilities of why I'm not progressing as fast as I want.
1. I'm not built for footbag. So, I have to train harder/better to get the same results as others. Or worse, I'm not physically able to train as hard as others.
2. I don't train enough. I train A LOT, but maybe it's still not enough.
3. I train too much. Maybe I'm not giving my body enough time to recover between sessions.
4. I'm training incorrectly. Or I have a really bad foundation.
Last question. Is it possible for someone to reach their skill limit in footbag no matter how hard they train? Disregarding age. I don't think I have, but do you think it's possible?
). I mean, what the heck was I thinking? I'm not ready to throw those down in runs.
But glad to see you're working and really dude, don't be so hard on yourself. 
)
